After hearing a lot of good reviews about it, particularly about Riverdale star Charles Melton's stellar performance, May December became my most anticipated movie of this year. Thanks to Netflix winning its rights to release it, I can now watch it before the year ends.
In May December, Moore plays Gracie, a mother with an infamous past. In the 1990s, Gracie got pregnant by a seventh grader named Joe, portrayed by Melton. As if that wasn't enough, she married him later on and they had two more children. Natalie Portman is Elizabeth, an actress who, twenty years later, is set to act the part of Gracie in an indie film based on her controversial life. Before the shooting of her film, Elizabeth visits Gracie's home to interview them and prepare for her role.
May December is my first Todd Haynes film. It is a slow-moving character study of three complicated characters. Depending on the viewer, it can be tedious or it can be interesting. For me, it's the latter. The movie starts with showing the seemingly picture-perfect family of Gracie and her attractive husband. It is through Elizabeth's prying eyes and investigation that we gradually begin to learn more about the couple as the story progresses. It is hard to understand why Gracie acts the way she do, and it is exactly the reason why Elizabeth chose to play her. It is also interesting to see how Gracie treats her children, but I wouldn't delve deeper into that. Her husband Joe, meanwhile, is still a kid trapped in an adult's body. His childlike quality is very apparent early on in the film as we observe his body language and reactions. He is a caterpillar who never learned how to fly. The highlight of the movie is Joe's breakdown. Melton is this year's shocker. A butterfly is shown in the film a lot, an obvious metaphor to his slow transformation and realization as the film moves forward. It is sad to watch.
Other things that I love about May December are its skillful camera works that excellently capture the characters' emotions, and a campy score that elevates the tension that is in the story.
I highly recommend this movie.
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